well, this turned into a rant 📕 THE GIRL BEHIND THE RED ROPE 📕what I really thought about the book
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Today I am sharing my thoughts on our buddy read for the month of August - The Girl Behind the Red Rope. Sorry, it turned into a bit of a rant . . . If you've read the book, please share your thoughts in the comments!
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I am really really excited about watching this video because i am really really excited about you having a rant please stay safe and enjoy your reading love your Australia fan John xx ❤️❤️
Haha, well, I hope you enjoy!
@@ChantelReadsAllDay I really did as I enjoy your honesty
So, I was reading this book and I told my husband I don't think I like this book. He asked what is it about. I said I don't know. I think they are all on LSD. He looked at the page number and said if at 200 pages you don't know what is going on then that is a poorly written book. I have never seen the movie "the Village".
Haha, yeah, a person should have a pretty good idea by page 200!
I enjoyed the first half, but unnecessary murder in the second half made me so angry, so conflicted on how I feel and my ratings 😩
Yeah, I don't know why that happened in the book.
Sorry I missed when this video first came out 🥰. I read it last year, and really enjoyed it. There is one beautiful dialogue that I loved in the book was when the little boy is talking about how the light penetrates the darkness, and even when it's covered it still shines.
Yes, I did like that part of the book!
Oh Yes, THANK YOU for doing the Buddy Reads this summer. I felt it gave me something to look forward to as I have been working through some PPD
Thank you for joining in!
It started out so similar to The Village that I didn’t even go on.
Fair enough!
I cannot really stand Dekker. I tried to read his The Circle trilogy, but nope... DNF'd them. I like Peretti's books though :)
I just DNFd his circle series too, but I like some of his other books!
I read The Circle series in high school and just didn't understand them.
I had never read any book by Ted Dekker before and I had no clue what to expect. It was very confusing to me. I had a hard time connecting to Grace. Her relationship with Andrew was really creepy to me. The writing would have had me dnfing it except it was so weird and I wanted to know if they were all on drugs or if people were dressing up pretending to be the Fury. Overall, I found it unenjoyable and I thought it had a bit of bad preaching. I think saying we are all the light is not Biblical because of Ephesians 2:1-3, Roms. 3:23, Isa. 64:6, and Luke 11:13. We are all children of wrath and only by God's choosing and by His power we become the sons of God (and then we are "the light"). So, I didn't like that in his book everyone regardless of their relationship with or without God are "the light" or that is the message I saw being pushed. So, yes the Gospel message was missing. I also didn't like how all fear was branded as bad since "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" Prov. 9:10; but, I did really like the focus on how "fear" controls us but we should be controlled by "light" (i.e God fear not what man can do unto you...etc). I definitely saw the connection to today- COVID and was ashamed of times I have let fear rule over me instead of remembering God has not given us a spirit of fear! So, that part was good even if presented in a way I felt was muddled. I definitely think Christian Fiction or any Christian writing should be held to a higher standard. Thus, I was concerned that this book muddled everything up into a feel good message of no fear and let love reign supreme. God's message is deeper, richer, and more controversial than that. Further, I didn't enjoy the lack of understanding the "when" this book was set in. Was it 2000s? 1950s? They had cars. But, I was lost trying to place the book and trying to connect to it. Idk, overall it was sorta good and I gave it three stars but very confusing. I will not be rereading or even trying another Ted Dekker book. It wasn't fun to feel so confused most of the read. The ending though and the connection to COVID is what really made it worth the confusion for me.
Thanks for sharing all your thoughts! I'm disappointed in this book because I feel like it could have been a really great book! Sometimes it's easier to enjoy a book that completely misses the mark than one that is close. 🤷♀️
@@ChantelReadsAllDay Yes, I have similar feelings. I think if it was either more allegorical like Pilgrims Progress or if it had a solid Gospel message I would have enjoyed it better
Ted Dekker has always been able to get through to me and change my perspective on life more than any pastor I’ve ever listened to. He uses metaphors and analogies to teach the message of Christ’s love. He doesn’t need to specifically say Jesus or start preaching the gospel to be able to reach people. Actually, I think that would end up only drawing In the Christian audience, and the whole goal Christians are supposed to have is to spread to the message and reach nonbelievers. I’ve been a fan of Ted Dekker’s for more than a decade and if you look into his message and who he is as a person, I think it would make more sense. As far as not know who is good and who is bad for the majority of the book, that is pretty in line with Dekker’s style. He writes in a way that the reader doesn’t get any more information than the main character. So the reader experiences the same confusion, the same conflicting feelings as the main character; therefore, as the reader you get to go on that same spiritual journey that the main character went on. It can truly be life changing. If you get a chance, look up the video on TH-cam of Dekker’s Outlaw tour. That’ll be an experience that you’ll never forget.
See I'm like that with Dekker over all--I kinda like him, but then I don't. I probably won't read this. I might, but it's down on the list.
I haven't read this book because I lost Ted Dekker at the Bride Collector. I enjoyed your review, because I do like Dekker's writing but some of his later books became too dark and too much manipulating to get the Christian message.
This was the first Ted Decker book I've ever picked up and will probably be the last. I dnf'd halfway through because I was so confused and I didn't like any of the characters.
I would definitely not recommend trying his other books then, most of them are way more out there and confusing. Have you read any Frank Peretti?
@@ChantelReadsAllDay Not yet but I have This Present Darkness on my tbr.
oh dear, haven't watched yet but I was so excited for this book...to watch or not to watch before I read....
Ha, I'm curious to find out which route you go!
I went with “skip to the end after the mention of spoilers”. 🤣 I’ll have to get this from the library and come back later. Darn, I was all excited to have a Chantel video.
@@ChantelReadsAllDay so I caved and watched this morning...life's too short to read a book that I'm not going to like. I still don't know whether to read it LOL! It reminds me of a book I read a few years ago which I did not like at all. It was called the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
@@erinkimmel9479 Lol, fair enough!
I was conflicted with it too. I liked it because I liked the Village movie vibes, but I think it was a missed opportunity to spread the good news. I agree that it fell short for both Christian and secular audiences.
Yeah, it's too bad because I think it could have been really good!
@@ChantelReadsAllDay It started out great, but fell flat. I also think I like Peretti's books better.
I started the book but didn't finish it. Right away, I felt it was confusing and too open to interpretation. I had never read anything by the author and I don't think I'll try any of his again.
Yeah, I would say this was actually one of his better books but it's been a long time since I read his other books
Agreed with everything you said Chantel! They really missed out by not doing an author’s note. I will probably give it 3 stars. I was thinking of picking up Nine by Rachelle Dekker before reading this book but now I am unsure. Thanks again for doing buddy reads this summer! It was a lot of fun!
I have Nine and I've heard good things about Rachelle's writing so I plan on giving that one a try before giving up on her.
I DNFd Nine…I just found it meandering without point 🤷🏼♀️
I read this book last year, so I guess my thoughts are a little less fresh, but I had similar thoughts. I loved Dekker as a teen/young adult, but as I’m getting older, his books just don’t resonate with me. I’m not sure if it’s the writing style or the sappy, slightly wonky spirituality I’ve encountered in his newer works.
I loved the cult element (although I agree, it felt like a rip off of The Village) and the visual representation of fear. I also liked how the Furies (aka demons, I think) would pose as self-preservation or something that wasn’t clearly evil to keep people enslaved. The Bible tells us that Satan poses as an angel of light, so the element of deception was great. But once Eli showed up, I was kind of over it. The emphasis on love only just felt like it wasn’t quite redemptive enough for me. It’s like this touchy-feely-preachy-without-substance gospel that I keep getting from Dekker’s newer books (49th Mystic was another that I DNF’d). Plus, while the specific cult element was new, there’s a feel of sameness to Dekker’s works. He uses the same plot devices, plot twists and even characters over and over and over again. I felt like I was reading a mash-up of several of his books.
Overall, I think the only thing I liked about this book was the cult element. I liked the writing style better than some of Dekker’s other books, but I think that might be his daughter’s influence, so I’m interested in trying out some of her books.
I haven't tried the Mystic series and I don't care to, it's almost more frustrating to me when a book could have been good but missed the mark.
You are totally right about the element of deception. I like how he used fear and not something more obvious like hatred as the enslaving force.
The without substance feely preaching!!!! Yes, I had such a grr moment with that. I mean Jesus was radical and then we water it down? That is just wrong to me. Who hides light under a bushel? Let it shine
For some reason, I’ve never been drawn to his books. My daughter liked the first in the Circle Series, but not enough to continue! Thanks for the heads up.
I read The Circle series years ago and just didn't get it. 🤷♀️
I had mixed feelings as well. I agree with things not being complete. Like we are the light but only because He is the light of the world and also the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom so I wish they would have defined the fear more. Also I agree with the fact that I wish they pointed to Christ and not the kid because while it felt alligorical ( if that is a word) they still mentioned God and not something else like in the Narnia series.
I'm glad I'm not the only that was having these thoughts!
Yes, I agree. I had these same thoughts as I read it. It had potential to be sure but wasted with the lack of a strong Gospel message. I enjoyed the faith of the FBI agent in "Fragments of Fear" much better as it felt more genuine.
Just finished it, but towards the end it went from 0 to 100 which I hated, violence against innocents is horrific, I like cult books (I think) but despise religion of all sorts, and this books just cements it for me, I know it’s fictional but I can imagine these similar situations happening, so it feels all too real 😮😢
I’ve never heard of the Village.
I thought this book was good, but wanted it to be better 🤷🏼♀️
Haha, I don’t read author’s notes 🤣
I don't often read author's notes but some books need a bit more description and this felt like one of them.
You were a nanny in England? That's so interesting! I'm pretty sure Revel is considered a Christian publishing company. I was interested in that book, but after your review, I'm thinking not lol
Yes, I was, not for very long but it was a cool experience.
Loved the book. Gave the book five stars 🌟.